Joe Lowndes
scholar and writer



The Latest

Secession movements in the PNW aren’t new. But lately, eastern Oregon is feeling Idaho-curious
KUOW.org
The “Greater Idaho” movement is on a longshot quest to supersize Idaho by absorbing more than a dozen eastern Oregon counties — a big chunk of Oregon’s territory.

Reconstruction/Redemption: Democracy, Civility, and the Tennessee Three
If we have been in the midst of a Third Reconstruction, as historian Peniel Joseph has argued, then the expulsion today of two Black lawmakers from the Tennessee state legislature is an attempt at a Third Redemption. A Republican supermajority expelled two Black Democratic lawmakers from their seats for joining a protest calling for action

Republicans are trying to build a multiracial right – will it work?
The Conversation
Article by Joseph Lowndes and Daniel Martinez HoSang Former Republican South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley launched her bid for president recently in a video that began by describing the racial division that marked her small hometown of Bamberg, South Carolina. Meanwhile, another presumptive GOP candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has continued his crusade

Adventures in Post-Democracy: January 6 and The House Leadership Debacle
A far-right flank in the House of Representatives has disabled Congress far more effectively than the rioters who stormed the Capitol two years ago today.

The Emerging Multiracial Right
The New Republic
Daniel Martinez HoSang and I have a new piece up at The New Republic analyze surprising wins by Trump-supported Black and Latino/a candidates in the midterms, and what this emergent shift means for both parties.

Supreme Access
The New York Times broke a story two days ago revealing that Samuel Alito leaked a 2014 Supreme Court contraception decision, weeks before it was publicly announced, to anti-abortion activists. The story also details the extraordinary access these activists have to other justices as well – at restraurants, hunting retreats, and even prayer sessions in